Wednesday, July 30, 2008

A Quick Up Date!

As you all know I went to the see the midwife on Monday and thought I'd let you know what happened. I finally got to talk to John yesterday and wanted to tell him first so he wasn't the last to know. Anyway the good news is that the baby is doing good and growing well. I got to hear her heart beat which was within the normal range and the midwife also measured my tummy and said that the baby is growing well for age. She's not getting too big yet!
The kind of bad news is that my blood sugar levels are not getting better and I'm about one step away from having to go on insulin. I basically have the insulin sitting in my fridge now waiting to be told I have to take. At the moment I'm on medication as my last chance. It's a medication that regulates my blood sugars a little better and it doesn't pass through the placenta so the baby is safe. At the moment I'm taking it once a day for a week, then I move to taking it twice a day. I'm also back to see the doctor next Monday so they can monitor how I'm going. I will no longer be dealing with midwives as my pregnancy is moving into the complicated category. From now on I'll be dealing with doctors at the hospital. Today has been the first day that I've noticed a big drop in my sugars (especially my early morning one) so I have my fingers crossed that I can get the levels under control without the insulin.
Although I'm a little worried about all this I'm doing fine. I still feel ok and I'm getting along fine without John. My only complaint in life is my ankles...they can get pretty swollen some days, especially when I don't sit down enough at work. John is doing fine and arrived safely in Bahrain minus his bags. They finally caught up with him yesterday, so he's a lot happier with his stuff there. He's settling in and will probably begin to look for an apartment this weekend. All is well and I'll write more on the weekend!

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Home Alone

John left yesterday, and I guess I'm doing ok. I had my cry yesterday and so far today I've been tear free. I'm sure that will all change once he calls. I'm hoping that he made it to Bahrain safe and sound. I'm waiting for him to call, but I imagine after all that flying he was pretty tired once he finally got there. As you can imagine my weekend has been a pretty quiet one. I haven't left the house since getting back from the air port as I don't want to miss his call. I'll be back to work tomorrow and will hopefully get a routine started. I didn't sleep too good last night so I'm hoping that won't last too long.
All is well with the baby and I'm off to see my mid wife tomorrow. I unfortunately have to go to a new one as my other one was sent to Afghanistan for 14 months. She told me my new one is just as good as her so I'm hoping I like her as much as I liked my old one. The diabetes is going ok although I was a little down about it all last week. It gets frustrating at times having to measure everything out and watching what you eat. Yesterday when I came home all sad I ate something I knew I shouldn't be and got a real shock when I checked my sugar levels. I think it was the reality check I needed to get my back on track. I'm a little scared that they may want to put me on insulin because my sugar levels are too high in the morning. All through out the day (especially when I'm doing the right thing) my levels are fine, but it's just this morning one. I'm dreading tomorrow. I don't want to have inject myself!! Keep your fingers crossed for me that this won't be the case. I'll let you all know how the appointment went tomorrow!

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Latest Pic


Well here is the latest photo of our yet to be named little girl! Although we wanted a boy we are excited all the same. After all a healthy baby is all you can really ask for. At the moment the battle of the names has begun. John wants Cheyenne and there is no way we are naming her that!! So far our list has two names, Mackenzie and Kylee. I've chosen Kylee because I discovered that it's actually an Australian name. It's an Aboriginal word for boomerang. Anyway I would love every one's opinion on the names and I'll let you know of any more we come across as I spend hours going through websites.
My gestational diabetes is going ok I guess. I'm getting a lot faster at taking my blood sugar, but I don't think I'll ever get used to pricking my finger!! I've totally done over my eating and it really hasn't been too much of a dilemma. I'm actually still getting plenty to eat, this just ensures that I'm eating the right foods and the right portions. It's actually quite alarming really when you have a look at how much we over eat by. The one thing that is really driving me crazy is having to limit my milk intake. I love milk and I thought pregnancy would give me free reign on how much of it I can drink. I love big glasses of it and can't do it anymore...not happy about that!
Yesterday we went and saw The Dark Knight and it was fantastic!! It has to be one of the best films I have seen in a really long time. Heath Ledger's performance was amazing, and when you think about it it really is sad that we will no longer be able to see him do roles like that. I recommend everyone go see it. John and I are still talking about it! I really liked the first one, but this one was much better! I think it's going to be a hard movie to top when they move onto the next one!
Apart from that I'm just enjoying the last few days I have left with John. It's hard to even process that he'll be gone for a year. It sounds so long! He did find out that it's highly likely that he will be able to come home for the baby's birth so really I'll be seeing him again in about four to five months! So think of me on those days when your other half is getting on your nerves and try not to take having them around all the time for granted!!!

Thursday, July 17, 2008

It's a girl!?!

Well we got the news yesterday that they believe the baby is a girl! It wasn't the clearest of pics, but I imagine if you can't see any dangling parts then it will more than likely be a girl. Even though we were hoping for a boy we are happy just the same!! We have no idea about a name yet, but I'll let you know once we both can decide on one! I also got some more pics, but I'll scan them on the weekend.
Along with the good news came some bad news too...I have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Yesterday I had to go to a little class and talk about meal plans and stuff, then I had to learn how to take my blood sugar levels. So now I have to measure everything I eat and drink and I have to stick a needle in my finger two hours after my meals and when I wake up. I don't like the needle part!! I've also been told that I have a very high chance of contracting type 2 diabetes in the future, so once the baby is born I need to lose some serious weight. I've always known that I could afford to lose some, but this is has been a big wake up call for me. So this means, MUM AND BINNY NO CHOCOLATE WHEN YOU VISIT!!!!

Sunday, July 13, 2008

My Weekend.


Me and my friends, from left: Meredith, Chrissy, Me, Sasha, Jennifer and Brittny!



This weekend I had my friend's bridal shower which was a lot of fun. It's always nice to see the girls out of work and I also got to catch up with a few of the girls that I used to work with so that's always good. My friend Jennifer is also pregnant so I got to talk baby talk and compare our pregnancies. Sasha (the bride) got some real nice gifts and the goodie bag we got was real cute too. It contained little food items that related to her and her future husband. For example there was pineapple juice to represent the marriage proposal in Hawaii and some microwave popcorn for their first date which was a movie.
We had Dakota over this weekend and she had a great time with her Dad. It's her last weekend here before John leaves so they went to the movies together and did some other stuff. By the time John sees her again I'm sure she is going to be a completely different person as she will be 13 this year. I have left her an open invitation to come over whenever she likes. I'm sure she want to spend more time here once the baby comes.
Speaking of the baby this is the week where we find out if it's boy or girl. I can't believe it's here already!! As you already know we are hoping for a boy, but we'll be happy either way. My cousin Amanda was wanting a girl and got a boy, so I'm a little nervous we will go down the same path. We have names for if it's a boy, I want Aaden and John wants Wyatt, but no girl names yet. I've told John if he wants Wyatt he needs to be here for the birth!! I'm still feeling good and I'm starting to feel my stomach change. I had a belly to begin with so I don't really have a pregnant tummy. I'm also not sure if I've felt the baby kick yet as I really don't know what that feels like. I'm hoping I get to feel it soon. It would be nice for John to get to feel that before he leaves.
John checked into his school on Friday and is back to work tomorrow. It was really nice to see him all cleaned up and back in uniform!! I tolerate the mustache, but much prefer him clean cut! Next weekend will be our last weekend together...it's makes me want to cry just typing those words! Having him leave with my pregnant emotions is going to be terrible! I won't think I'll be answering the phone that weekend! My friends are being great already and promise to keep me busy so I'll be ok once I get over the initial leaving part. I'll use that weekend to cry and mope around, then I'll pick myself up and get on with it. If it's one thing I've gotten used to it's having to be apart!

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

4th of July





The USS George Washington was part of our fireworks back drop!
Well this week I went back to work, and so far it hasn't been that bad. Yesterday morning though I almost had a heart attack when my alarm didn't go off. I woke up at 5:35am which at that time normally I'm already on the road. I got dressed, brushed my teeth and hair and was out the door. Not the best way to return to work!! Upon coming home I looked at my alarm clock and realised that I had set the alarm correctly, I had just set the actual time up wrong! (the am was in the pm!) I didn't make the same mistake today!!
This weekend was a long weekend for us as it was Independence Day. We took it easy for most of the day and then headed down to the Navy base to watch the fireworks. Every year they do a big fireworks show over San Diego bay and one of the benefits of being military is that you can go on base and watch and not have to deal with a lot of crowds. We went early (probably a little too early) and had dinner (hot dogs...very American) and then hung out and watched the sun set.
We also took my Sequence game along and John managed to kick my butt five times!! I told him that I let him win because it was his day!
John impressed that I'm making him pose for yet another photo!! (what do you think of the holiday moustache?)
Anyway the fireworks were great and it didn't take us too long to get home! We didn't do much else over the weekend, just stuck close to home and I slept in. Now that I'm back at work John is back to painting. He is now working on the kitchen, dining room and lounge room and is about
half way through. Once he's done and everything is
back to normal I'll take some photos.
My dismal attempt to capture the fireworks!
Nothing new to report baby wise. I'm still feeling good and have no real complaints except for a stuffy nose. I guess I'm starting to get a bit of a belly, but it's kind of hard to tell because I had a belly to begin with! (smile) The one thing I do like is that I finally have nails!! The prenatal vitamins give you the best nails and I'm taking advantage! I love my nails!

Friday, July 4, 2008

No Work and Loving It!


John and I at the park!
Well I had this week off work to spend some time with John before he leaves and it's been great. Nice to not have to get up at 5am, and we have really had a relaxing week! On Wednesday we went to the Wild Animal Park and had a lot of fun. It's located in what they call inland San Diego and it was HOT!! There was a lot of walking, a lot of hills and it wore me out! The zoo set the park up if I remember correctly in the 70s so that they could breed animals and eventually they decided to turn it into a tourist location. The layout is really beautiful and they have a lot of animals there. At one stage you go on a bus-like tour and they show you a bunch of animals. The guide on the tour said that they have a few endangered species there and what they do is breed them till they get a good enough population then return back into the wild.
The deers that you could go into the enclosure and touch.


A tortise that was part of the park's animal encounter attractions.

We got to see a Black Rhino and according to the guide that it was one of eight left in the entire world. I got a couple of pics but not the best as he was hiding in the grass. We got to see elephants, giraffes, spring boks, lots of deer looking things that I can't remember their names, lions, cheetahs, tigers, a bald eagle and some other animals. It really was a good day although next time I go it won't be in Summer!

The baby giraffes who were really cute!

One of about five gorillas they have there...they were really big!


They had lots of baby elephants there...this one was cute but not the smallest (he wouldn't let me get a photo of him!)
My sugar test went fine, although I don't know the results yet. They had to draw my blood four times which got a little old, but I survived! My veins are not always the easiest to find so I was a little nervous at having to get stuck so many times. The first time was quick and easy. The next hour it was a trainee and she kept losing my veins so I got stuck something like three or four times, both arms, before the technician took over and used the first vein. So for the next two times they used the same vein and I survived! Fingers crossed it turns out ok!